The Roaches and Lud's Church

Saturday 17th July 2021

After my walk in June last year on the Cotswold Way, I had to start working Saturday mornings, which reduced my available time for a walk. By the time I had finished working there wasn’t enough time left to drive all the way over to Gloucestershire and do the next stage of the Cotswold Way, so therefore my walking over the summer was reduced to short walks in Leicestershire. The only walk I did last summer outside of the county was in the Peak District when I visited the Roaches and Lud's Church. I did a lot of walking in the Peak District in 2020 when I was stuck at home and the only walking I could do was day trips and during those walks I did many of the best walks in the park. However, this was one place that I hadn’t returned to and was where I now ended up having been pushed into doing a walk by my colleague from work with whom I have done several walks including in 2017 up Scafell Pike. He was in favour of going up Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District, but I eventually changed it to the Roaches since it is a lot closer and wouldn’t take so long to get to, which was important given the shortened time available. Nevertheless, I got up extra early to get my work completed as soon as possible before my colleague picked me up to drive us to the Peak District.

I had previously done a walk over the Roaches in 2015 and this was a shortened version of that. We parked in the same place, below Hen Cloud and as we were putting on our packs my colleague realised that he had forgotten to bring any water. This was a big problem as it was going to be a very hot day with clear blue skies overhead, and even though he thought he’d be alright it wasn’t long before he realised he was going to have a problem. I had water to spare with me, but no container that he could drink from. Leaving that problem until later we set off up the track that goes to Roaches Hall and soon came off onto a narrow path that climbs steeply up the hillside towards Hen Cloud. This was an entertaining climb that tested both of us as we climbed up past rocks that are popular with rock climbers until eventually we reached the top of Hen Cloud where we were able to enjoy stunning views south towards Tittesworth Reservoir and north to the southern tip of the Roaches. After a while spent admiring the view and catching our breath, we set off north across the gap between Hen Cloud and the Roaches before taking the path that passes through the woodland below crags that were being climbed as we passed.

With hindsight, it may have been better if we had taken that route in descent, but soon we had climbed up onto the ridge where we stopped once more to admire the tremendous view west before slowly making our way along the ridge until eventually we reached the trig point that marks the highest point on the Roaches. A steady descent brought us down to a minor road where we found a discarded plastic bottle that we picked up thinking that it may help with our water problem. Continuing along the now broader, less dramatic ridge we eventually made our way to a junction where we turned right onto a gradually descending path that that was lined with bilberries. These were too tempting to ignore and my colleague eagerly ate loads perhaps thinking they would make up for his lack of water. Continuing along the path we entered Forest Wood and eventually reached the entrance to Lud’s Church, which is a chasm with sheer rock faces that were covered in ferns and mosses due to the damp conditions. We found there was a remarkable big temperature difference between the hot weather outside and inside the cold, sheltered chasm.

I was enthused by the surroundings and explored many of the side branches to see where they went leaving my colleague to take the regular path out at the far end while I clambered through a narrow opening into the woodland so when I eventually found my colleague he was surprised see me come from a completely different direction to the main outlet. As we resumed our walk along the footpath through the delightful woodland, my colleague decided that he really needed a drink so after washing out the plastic bottle that we had found I filled it up from my water bladder. Our route now turned uphill at a time when we really could have done without it as it was now getting very hot. The route I had devised was deeply flawed in that the Roaches had to be climbed twice including at the end of the walk when we were both tired, especially my colleague who was less used to walking. Slowly we climbed back up to the top of the ridge and even more slowly stumbled back up to the trig point. Beyond that the walking was much easier as the slow descent along the top of the Roaches took us back past the stunning cliff edges and their great views.

Near the southern end we ignored both the gentler path below the crags that we had taken earlier and the path that circles wide around the crags in order to tackle them direct. This would have been better done in ascent and not when we were tired, but although my colleague did slip at one point it was harmless and we both safely reached the bottom and we were able to make the final descent onto the road. The walk that I did in 2015 was much longer having been extended all the way along the valley to Danebridge, but in the hot weather and with my colleague’s lack of water it was better to cut the walk short. We had stunning views all day and it was great to enjoy the sunshine on a stunning ridge that was a joy to walk along, both ways.